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The Guardian reports on Martin Kahanec's paper: No 'welfare migration' in the EU

The Guardian reports on Martin Kahanec's paper: No 'welfare migration' in the EU

Publikované dňa 28. marec 2013

The Guardian reports on a recent article by Martin Kahanec busting
the myth of welfare magnet of migration. „Research challenges idea that
UK attracts immigration with ‚welfare magnet‘ and says language and
skills are bigger pull,“ the Guardian reflects.

A comprehensive study of 19 European countries over a period from 1993 to 2008 co-authored by Martin Kahanec finds that cross-country
differences or within-country changes in unemployment beneft spending
(UBS) do not affect migration flows within or to Europe. The study shows
that for within EU migration UBS plays no role whatsoever. For migration
flows from outside the EU a mild statistical correlation is found, but
it is shown to be very small and statistically insignificant if
confounding factors and reverse causality are taken into account. “All
estimates for immigrants of EU origin indicate that flows within the EU
are statistically not related to unemployment benefit generosity,”
Kahanec says. “This suggests that the so-called ‚welfare migration‘
debate is misguided and not based on empirical evidence. Immigrants are
not shopping for welfare,” he adds.
| Other factors like unemployment rates, level of gross domestic
product, and existing social contacts in the country of destination have
a much stronger effect on the flow of migration than welfare benefits.
“In terms of policy, there should be a paradigm shift in this discussion
– away from the policing of immigrants and towards a more active
facilitation of mobility,” Kahanec concludes.